Entertainment

'New Girl' Gets a Taste of 'Parks & Recreation'

by Lindsey Kupfer

You probably recognize Alison Becker from at least one of your favorite shows. She’s guest starred in pretty much all the good shows on TV and will be most likely returning to reprise her role as Shauna Malwae-Tweep on Parks and Recreation in its final season (how could she not?), but before that happens, Becker has a guest role as Pearl in the Season 4 Thanksgiving episode of New Girl . But aside from her unforgettable role on Parks, Becker has made her mark on sketch comedy shows and even in major commercials. As a performer at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (which boasts alumni like Amy Poehler, Donald Glover, Natasha Leggero, Aziz Ansari, and New Girl writer Kay Cannon, to name a few) and I will bet that we will be seeing a lot more of her over the years.

During the special Thanksgiving episode of New Girl this week, Schmidt decides that this year is “Bangs-giving” and everyone must bring someone to dinner that they can set another person up with. We can assume that one of the guys will be bringing Becker to dinner, and while she'll probably yet another girl of the week (like poor Alexandra Daddario) it would be awesome to see her recur on the show. It’s been awhile since any of the guys really dated anyone and it can't be all Jess and Cece on the romance front.

But perhaps Becker's past can serve as some proof that New Girl writers should keep her around for a bit. Here is everything you need to know the funny actress:

She's a Parks and Recreation Staple

Shauna Malwae-Tweep is your favorite journalist in Pawnee, Indiana who is always single — probably because of the lack of men around the area. She has dated Mark Brendanawicz and Chris Traeger, but has also attempted to hook up with Ben Wyatt and Andy Dwyer. Basically, Ms. Malwae-Tweep tries to land any dude she can on Parks and Rec, so how can she not come back for one last final shot at finding a guy in the series' final season?

She's One Of The Newsreaders

Newsreaders is a show on Adult Swim, on which Becker is one of the main cast members. It's a fake news show on Adult Swim, so it probably makes zero sense, like most things on Adult Swim late at night. #Toomanycooks.

She's Got Comedy Gigs

Alison is constantly starring in comedy sketches from Funny or Die skits to The Colbert Report. Some of the places her sketches have appeared are The Kroll Show, CollegeHumor Originals, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Pete Holmes Show.

Serial Guest Star

Besides her recurring role on Parks and Recreation, Becker has guest starred in some popular shows like Californication, The Newsroom, American Dad, The League, Rules of Engagement, and now New Girl.

She's Got a Cozy Christmas Commercial

You don’t know it yet, but you’re going to see Alison Becker a lot this Christmas in the new Radioshack ad (yes, Radioshack is still a thing, apparently). They’ve signed on Becker and Weird Al for this season, so at least she's in good company.

Oh Yeah, And She Was On Boiling Points

Remember pre-Punk’d on MTV? They had a show called Boiling Points where people posed as store employees or random other various people and attempted to piss people off for a certain amount of time and if that person could last for the whole time they got money? Well, Alison Becker was a regular cast member on the show.

Images: stupidf--kingquestions/Tumblr; Danny Feld/NBC